NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy is scheduled to guard the road goal versus the Canucks on Thursday, Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com reports.

Vasilevskiy picked up a win over the Kraken on Tuesday, stopping 16 of 18 shots in that contest. He has alternated wins and losses over his last four outings, giving up a total of 10 goals in that span. The Canucks are the worst team in the league, so Vasilevskiy has a good chance to put in a good performance.

Pearson (lower body) is expected to miss Thursday's game against San Jose, per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Pearson also missed Buffalo's previous two games. He has seven goals and 13 points in 53 outings between Winnipeg and Buffalo in 2025-26. Pearson should be in the mix for a bottom-six spot once he's healthy.

Hill is expected to start at home against Utah on Thursday, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Hill has a 2-2-0 record, 1.26 GAA and .943 save percentage across his past four appearances. He's 8-8-3 with a 2.94 GAA and an .875 save percentage in 20 outings overall in 2025-26. Utah dropped four straight games (0-2-2) from March 9-14, but the Mammoth ended that slump Monday with a 6-3 victory over Dallas to improve to 35-27-6 on the season.

Vejmelka will guard the road goal versus the Golden Knights on Thursday, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Vejmelka was not in goal for Monday's 6-3 win over the Stars. He had allowed at least three goals in four straight games prior to that, going 1-2-1 in that span. The Golden Knights have won just two of their last six games, scoring 15 goals over that stretch.

Kapanen (illness) is slated to be in the lineup Thursday versus the Panthers, Bob Stauffer of the Oilers Radio Network reports.

Kapanen was considered a game-time decision, but he took warmups in his usual third-line spot. He should continue to get ice time in all situations.

Couturier (upper body) won't play Thursday versus Los Angeles, per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.

Couturier has seven goals and 29 points in 66 outings in 2025-26. It's not clear how long he'll be out, but head coach Rick Tocchet doesn't think it'll be a long-term absence. Carl Grundstrom might draw back into the lineup Thursday due to Couturier's injury.

Tolvanen (upper body) won't play Thursday versus the Predators, per the NHL media site.

Tolvanen is set to miss his second straight game due to the injury. The Kraken are also missing Ryan Winterton (illness), so Jani Nyman -- who was recalled Wednesday -- will slot into the lineup. Tolvanen's next chance to play is Saturday versus the Blue Jackets.

Winterton will miss Thursday's game against Nashville because of an illness.

Winterton has four goals and 18 points in 62 outings in 2025-26. Jani Nyman might draw into the lineup Thursday as a result of Winterton's absence.

Annunen will protect the home goal versus the Kraken on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Annunen will get the nod since Juuse Saros (upper body) is unavailable. Over his last five outings, Annunen is 2-3-0 with a 2.46 GAA and a .910 save percentage. This is a big game for the wild-card race in the Western Conference, as the Predators are chasing the Kraken, who currently hold the final playoff spot.

Saros isn't available for Thursday's home game against Seattle because of an upper-body injury.

Matt Murray was summoned from AHL Milwaukee as a result of Saros' injury. Justus Annunen is expected to start Thursday, while Murray will serve as the understudy. Saros is considered day-to-day, so he hasn't been ruled out for Saturday's home game against Vegas.